Egypt's New Electronic System Will Speed Transits

Egypt’s Ministers of Transportation, Finance and Trade announced the application of an electronic system to link data at its ports. The system will connect all of Egypt’s ports to one database, which will be used in custom clearance and inspection procedures. The linkage system is expected to expedite queues for ships that can wait up to six days to be inspected into just four hours.

Egypt is also implementing a “one-stop-shop” system, which will allow investors to receive approvals through a single process. Per a newly-approved law, Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), will obtain permits and licenses on behalf of investors from government bodies. 

With the Suez Canal expansion completed, the Egyptian government is now encouraging investment and, in February, it announced corporate tax cuts in the zone to one-third of the national rate in order to boost investments. Egypt expects that cutting clearance time from days to a few hours there will be more investment.

More than 17,000 ships transited the Suez Canal in 2014, which is about 50 ships per day. The expanded canal will increase traffic about 100 ships per day.

The government expects the system to be functioning throughout all ports in about three months.